KOTA KINABALU: Immediate action can be taken against individuals who post online about religious and racial sentiments as well as seditious statements that insult the royal institution.

       Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said when matters like these are posted on social media, immediate action can be taken without having to wait for reports to be lodged, unlike other cyber offences.

       He said the actions taken include having the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) take down the sensitive posts.

       “In fact, the MCMC has intercepted and prevented some one billion calls from entering our telecommunication system using the existing guidelines we have,” Annuar said.

       He said while the authorities respect an individual’s freedom of speech, there are certain matters that cannot be taken lightly.

       He said other cyber security issues will be probed or looked into when a report is made, and it would need the MCMC to work with agencies involved such as the police to pursue the matters.

       Annuar said this when asked about recent incidents where some social media users insulted Sabah’s Kaamatan Festival, calling it ‘haram’ (illegal) and an alcohol fest among other derogatory terms.

       He said the MCMC as a regulatory and enforcement body, continues to analyse and find ways to better tackle cyber threats especially those involving cross-border data privacy breaches.

       “This is a complex issue and involves a lot of authorities, inside and outside the country,” he said.

       Annuar said the MCMC must also continue educating the public on ethical use of social media and Internet platforms, and not to misuse this service by scamming or causing hatred, fear or security threats.

       He said Malaysia is ranked fifth in the world and second in Asia for cyber security and had on several occasions became the point of reference for many nations in this matter.

       “But of course as time changes, things also keep changing and we need to continue updating ourselves with the latest technological developments,” he said.

       On other matters, Annuar said the presence of various ‘news portals’, some of which are not properly registered with the MCMC, can be allowed to operate as long as they do not touch on sensitive issues.

       “You must know your responsibilities and have awareness of this. We must strike a good balance between freedom of speech and constitutional matters,” he said.